MEXICO CITY, Feb 10 (Reuters) – Mexican investment platform Flink will begin operating in Colombia in June or July as part of its Latin American expansion plan, chief executive Sergio Jimenez said on Thursday.

The platform, which allows subscribers to invest in fractional shares of listed U.S. companies, will also add Mexican debt instruments, like government bonds, to diversify its investment portfolio, Jimenez said.

Flink is aimed at new investors who can get started with a minimum of 30 pesos ($1.46).

About 300,000 Mexicans had investment accounts in 2019, well under 1% of the population, according to company data.

Flink has 1.6 million subscribers and aims to reach 4 million by 2022.

“The average ticket for newcomers is $1 or $2, but it hits $32 in the fourth month. People become confident when they understand the market,” Jimenez said.

The company decided to launch the platform with US-listed companies to give customers “the option to invest in fractional shares.” Businesses overseas are more attractive to customers, Jimenez said.

Data shared by Flink shows that Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Amazon.com Inc are the companies users have invested in the most over the past 12 months.

Flink was conceived as a way to provide digital banking solutions, but then the company decided “to focus on getting people to markets,” Jimenez said.

Flink is working with regulators to modernize Mexico’s brokerage system. One of the main barriers to market access is that Mexico’s legal framework does not allow digital onboarding to brokerages, but that should happen soon, Jimenez said.

Investors must physically go to a brokerage to set up investment accounts, he said.

Flink is also considering expansion to countries like Peru, Chile and Argentina, and aims to “bypass regulations to provide more investment opportunities for its users,” Jimenez said.

($1 = 20.5550 Mexican pesos)

Report by Valentine Hilaire; Editing by Richard Chang

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